My knuckles are still white and now my eyes have that thing where they think stationary objects are moving.

You know that thing that happens when you’ve been staring at a moving item (in my case the road, or that text crawl at the bottom of a tv screen) for a looooong time and then you stop staring at it and then the stationary objects around you suddenly look like they’re moving?

Yeah. I’ve got that.

And white knuckles.

Holy Dirty Diapers!

I know y’all think I’m brave, but I scared myself. Actually, the crappy condition of the LA freeways scared me. The roads (the 405, parts of the 101, and parts of the 5) were SO BAD I thought I had flat tires. Plural. Seriously.

And my RV is as wide as a semi. This means when passing an actual semi there are inches between us. You have to be very good at keeping your lane position. I’m working on it. A girlfriend who used to drive semis said it takes about three months to get used to it.

Three months of white-knuckled fear, and stationary objects that sometimes move. Oh, joy.

Someone asked if I got flipped off. No, I didn’t, but I might have flipped off a few folks myself could I have pried my white-knuckled fingers from the steering wheel.

View from the San Diego Convention Center

Ok, the drive between Santa Barbara and San Diego gave me gray hairs. The SD KOA left much peace, quiet, and places free of dogs piss and doo to be desired. The staff at the KOA was very helpful, except when it came to keeping the neighbors pooping dog off my site. They couldn’t have cared less.

But the BlogHer conference was awesome! I met some wonderful people, and sat in on great video workshops (more of my awesome videos coming soon – lucky you!). I don’t think I’ve ever been fed so well! I didn’t get to meet many of the bloggers I read, including The Bloggess, but have found a few to add to the list.

My first test run was cut short right after the conference due to a plumbing issue (hole in fresh water tank, not related to the below-mentioned bollard incident). I returned to northern California in one day – via much better freeways.

The trip back took about twelve hours, the last two of which were traffic in my area. I made about five stops, mostly in a vain attempt to retrieve my cat from under the bed so she would eat. (She likes the RV when it’s stationary, not so much when it’s moving.) The rest of the trip was great because I avoided the 405 like the plague. (I took 805 to 5 to 43 to 58 to 5 to 46 to 101. The 43, 58 and 46 were great! I highly recommend them to fellow RVer’s.)

The dealership was great about it and patched the hole first thing the next morning. I’ll water test it in a few days to see if it holds.

All in all, I loved being on the open road. Especially if the road was smooth and didn’t have traffic. If the patch holds, and my knuckles and eyes have returned to normal, I hope to continue the rest of my first trip. I want to boondock at a beach for a week or so, if I find an opening…

And maybe a rich husband.

This is all a bit more expensive than I thought it would be… especially at about eight miles to the gallon. Plus, the RV camping parks are more costly than expected. Walmart, here I come! (They let you overnight for free.) Keep an eye out for pictures of me on People of Walmart.

Have I hit anything yet? Yes. A bollard (not a picture of the one I hit). I won. Just try doing that in a car.